It’s been hard to post things reliably, as phone/internet service has been spotty.
It was a big day to get to Trounson’s Kauri Park from Rawene, and so we wanted to have a short day today, into the small city of Dargaville. It’s the biggest town we have been in since leaving Auckland, and it has all the services, including ATM’s which we needed. It also has a nice holiday park for camping with a kitchen, showers and washing machine, and it was only about 23 miles away and 1,300 feet of elevation gain. And yet, we were kind of tired from the previous day and the road was rough gravel and so we pulled into Dargaville more tired than we expected. Dargaville has a slightly rundown feel, but it boasted a large grocery store and about 4 banks, so we were happy.
The previous night in Trounson’s Kauri Park was our first with no services around, meaning that there was neither a food store nor a place to buy a beer! That classic end of the day reward of a cold beer was missing, so it was doubly nice to have a good cold beer in Dargaville. Chris also got some wine and we grilled a piece of salmon on the gas grill at the campsite.
In the morning, we paid another visit to the grocery store, buying food and supplies for 3 days with no access to a grocery store, even though we are in small towns along the way. Neither Glinks Gully, Kelly’s Bay nor Pouto Point have any services. I’m in for a few days of no beer. The riding better be good! Our bikes are heavy with food when we take off. Perhaps we should take the Udderground.
It’s not far…only about 13 miles and 700 feet of climbing. And it’s so worth it…the campsite is perched above a massive, empty beach. I had reserved a site for us online, but had no idea how good it would be.
Chris and I set up camp and went for a walk on the beach, watching a fisherman land a snapper and someone flying an ultralight along the headland dunes. The tide is going out and the beach is reflective with the sheen of just departed water. It’s a lovely, kind of primordial emptiness on that beach, sometimes punctured by cars and motorcycles zooming down the hard sand.
We walked back to the camp just in time to see the family arrive…they made it!
And so we had dinner in the communal kitchen, did the dishes and then headed to bed.
The following morning (this morning as I write this on January 21) we climbed back over the steep dune hills and headed to the other side of the peninsula to Kelly’s Bay, within a short ride of the following day’s destination of Pouto Point, where we will catch a chartered fishing boat on January 23 that is taking us across Kaitaia Bay to Helensville, with a sailing time of about 4-5 hours.
Today’s ride was about 25 miles with 2300 feet of climbing. The hills are steep here and we labored up inclines of 10-14%. And then descended a steep gravel road to Kelly’s Bay, dreading the climb out. Kelly’s Bay is delightful, but also funny how there is nothing commercial here. Not a single store or shop, nor bar or vendor of any kind. The campsite is absolutely spotless, and the camp host charming and helpful. The family arrives a few hours after us. We are amazed they could climb those hills at all. Perine is only 7 and she’s tougher than the average 7-year old for sure.
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